The Forbidden Inn: A Tale of Woe and Heartbreak
by K. East
Summary: Sokka checks into an inn and meets an unexpected person. Like, three sentences of Zutara implications. No slash.
1. Roommates

A comedy on Avatar: The Last Airbender…

The Forbidden Inn: A Tale of Woe and Heartbreak

Chapter One

Roommates

"Room for one, please," requested Sokka as he tried to ignore the state of the inn. Get in, get some sleep, get out. That was the plan, but he wasn't so sure he wanted to stay here any longer than he already had. The place was shabby, and smelled of vomit and burnt eggs. In the corner, a creature - he couldn't tell if it was a man or woman - was making an obscene gesture at him. Not with its hand, either.

"Now, now, we don' have no single rooms here," protested the lady at the front desk. Her face was like a bulldog's, and there was a mole on her chin that bounced up and down when she talked.

"We give y'all roomies, see? An' don' y'all complai' 'cause I don' make the rules, see?"

Bounce, bounce.

"I'll give y'all a room now, bu' don' y'all complai' when yer roommate, he shows up, alrigh'?"

"Uh, yeah." Sokka tore his eyes away from the mole and took the little key the innkeeper offered.

"Room two-twenty-fou'," she grunted.

"Thanks…I guess."

He threw his things down on the floor, consequentially unsettling a puff of dust from the creaky planks.

"This place is a dump," Sokka muttered.

"Got that right," returned a voice. An uncomfortably familiar voice.

"AHHH!!"

"Hey…you…AH!"

* * *

"I cannot believe _you_ are my roommate," spat Zuko fiercely. "Of all the vile, lowly, menial…!"

"I'm not happy about it either," grumbled Sokka. "After that stunt you pulled at Ba Sing Se?"

Zuko seemed to remember something. "Oh, yes. _Where is the Avatar?_"

"We split up," returned the Water Tribe boy.

"How stupid do I look?"

"You'd be surprised."

Zuko narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. "So, where's your sister?"

"Off pouting over you!" snarled Sokka. "Happy? You made my sister feel _sorry_ for you."

"Whatever." The prince looked unconvinced. "I'm going to get some _sleep_."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. "You aren't worried about me attacking you or anything?"

"No. Not really."

_Weird,_ thought Sokka. _Maybe he's not so bad after all._

_You smelly, incompetent peasant,_ thought Zuko._ He makes me want to vomit._

The Water Tribe warrior frowned. "I want to get some sleep, too."

"I'm not stopping you."

"But…there's only one bed." He pointed.

The Firebender took this all in stride. "I get it."

"No way!" complained the younger of the two. "We'll flip a coin."

"Fine." Zuko took a coin - _gold_, Sokka dimly noted with envy - and held it up. "Heads, I win; Tails, you lose." He smirked.

Sokka thought for a very brief moment (or maybe he was just processing the concept of gold coins) before agreeing.

The coin flew into the air, spinning over itself for a second before being caught and flipped.

"Tails. You lose." The black-haired, golden-eyed young man smiled apologetically at his roommate (all the while laughing inside). "Sorry."

"Darn. If only it was heads, then you would've…WAIT A SECOND!" shouted the young - but gullible - Sokka.

Zuko scowled. "Well, I'm not sleeping on the floor."

"Neither am I."

The two stared off at each other and a questionable silence filled the room. Sokka was the first to break the barrier.

"We could always share?"

Instantly, the young Prince's face contorted into an expression of shock and disgust. "Are you crazy?"

"Only on Fridays," quibbled Sokka.

"…I hate you."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. Possessions

A comedy on Avatar: The Last Airbender…

The Forbidden Inn: A Tale of Woe and Heartbreak

Chapter Two

Possessions

"Get off my side."

"It's not your side."

"Yes it is! See the line?"

"That's not a fair line. You gave yourself the bigger half!"

"What are you implying?"

"That you're a BED HOG!"

"Stop moving the blankets!!"

"I'm COLD!"

"You're a Firebender! Warm yourself up!"

"I'd be glad to warm up your sister-"

At that point, Zuko had been knocked unconscious. Such are the consequences in making suggestive comments about one's sister when one is holding an extraordinarily heavy lamp.

But it was all in fair play, considering the things Sokka had had to tell Katara in attempts to help her to "get over" the young Prince.

Sokka replaced the lamp to its rightful place, shoved Zuko back to _his_ side, yanked away the blankets, and fell into a deep and fairly comfortable sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED


	3. Morning After

A comedy on Avatar: The Last Airbender…

The Forbidden Inn: A Tale of Woe and Heartbreak

Chapter Three

Morning After

Sokka awoke to a very sick feeling in his stomach. It reminded him of anxiety, stress, guilt, and disgust all at the same time. Mostly disgust. As he blinked his bleary eyes, he saw why.

For one, he had rolled into Zuko's side.

For another, while _he_ was completely wrapped up in the sheets, the firebender had somehow fallen off the bed and lay shivering on the filthy floor.

"Oh well." The guilt quickly washed away and Normal Sokka returned. Suddenly the door swung open, revealing a smiling Katara.

"Sokka! That bulldog lady told me you'd be here! I finally decided that if Zuko wants to work with his psychotic sister, he can kiss my-" she halted mid-sentence, staring at the Prince who was getting up shakily from the floor.

"SOKKA!" she screamed at her brother, fuming. "You _promised_ if we ever saw him again he was _MINE_!"

* * *

That was considerably the worst experience in Sokka's young life. And, though male-bonding and destiny and the greater good, blah, blah, _blah_ convinced Zuko to join Aang (and hold true to his offer to "warm up" Katara), the 15 year-old decided that, indeed, his life was miserable. Period. End of story (literally). 


End file.
